Of Life or Death
by Traptedinconfusion
Summary: "Jess, I think it's time to be you. Stop living the life your Father wanted and start living the way you want to. Its your turn to write your destiny." Tony said from his position next to me. I thought for a second before they called Tony. I watched him leave and chose his new faction. I didn't know if I could but I was going to do it and I was going write my own fate.
1. Old Me, Old Life

Please don't kill me but I will be rewriting the story, I have been thinking about it for awhile but wasn't sure if I should of or not. Thank you **Candyland 426** for motivating me to do it. I hope everyone likes the new version. Like in this chapter I will be adding more characters into the mix to try and develop Jessica(Dru) more and give her a reason. _**I still only own what you **__**don't**__** know...**_ Thank you and Review telling me which version you like more..

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_Beep beep beep… _

I could hear the constant beeping telling me it was time to get up. I crawl over to my bedside table at turn the alarm off. I lay there for a few minutes until I'm fully awake. Throwing the covers back, I jump out of bed, grab some clothes and walk to the bathroom. The bathroom light is blinding to my eyes and I shut them at once. I groan as I make it over to the sink and begin my morning wake up routine. I look back at my running clothes, black pants and a black shirt. I think back to the boy that gave me them.

**Two years earlier**

"Why do you want these so bad, they're only clothes?" Tony asked me for the hundredth time that day, while handing me the material.

"Tony you know how much I want to escape that hell. Why bother asking. Plus I already know what faction I'm choosing. The question is do you really think you do? Erudite isn't all that great, trust me its not a faction that I would consider." I told the boy. Looking into his green eyes I saw confusion. We dropped the subject altogether when the school bells ring informing us to go home.

**Present**

Tony and I have been friend ever since, but even he doesn't know my darkest secrets and I'm afraid of what he would do if he ever found out. I quickly get dressed and grab my sneakers. Tiptoeing down the stairs, I open the door and walk outside. On the front steps I put my shoes on and start running down the driveway.

The aptitude test awaits me today when school starts. I don't know what its going to tell me but it doesn't matter, either way I have made up my mind, I know where I'm going tomorrow. I round the corner from my street to the one that intersects it, and bump into someone.

Its a boy and he looks familiar but I can't place where I have seen him before. He looked at me surprised then annoyed.

"Why are you up this early and what are you doing in Dauntless clothing?" The boy asked. I move closer to the building and into the shadows.

"Why are you in Erudite?" He moved in closer to me and I realize this wasn't the best idea I have ever had. With my back against the wall I hold whatever ground I might possess. The boy comes closer and I try not to back down.

"What is my business, is my business. I don't need a nosy twelve year old outside distracting my people while we are trying to patrol." I thought about what he said for a moment, Dauntless are our police force but I have never seen them this deep in Erudite. Are the factionless getting that bad? I look back at the boy who was walking away. I glanced down to my watch, I has already been an hour and my father will be waking up soon. I start running back to my house.

Once there I look to see if any of the lights are on. I couldn't find anything out right by that didn't mean a thing. I test my luck and open the door to see if he was downstairs. As I crack the door open slightly, I notice footsteps coming down the stairs. I pause and wait to see if he has found me out. The footsteps faded away to where I'm guessing is the kitchen. I open the door and shut it quietly behind my and make a mad run for my room.

"Jessica, was that you?" I heard him call from down below. I quickly throw on an old shirt and baggy pants.

"Yes father, I was just out running, Did I wake you?" I asked in a hopefully innocent tone. Luckily my father didn't transfer from Candor or he would have known something was wrong.

"No, you never do. Well you best get ready don't want to be tardy today." He said. I nodded and went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for school. After a shower, I got changed into a white tank top and navy blue jeans. I look in the mirror for bruises but most of them have healed thankfully. I grab my blue jacket from my desk and grab my fake glasses. Putting both on I slip on a pair of flats and grab my bag from my bed.

I walk back down stairs to where my father was sitting reading the paper. I took a book out of my bag and opened it to a random page to pretend I was reading. The truth was I loved to read, but not the textbooks from school. Usually it was something called fantasy. It's an old genre of stories, my mother would read them to me before I fell asleep. After a few minutes my father closed his paper and stood up.

"Well darling I have to head off to work. I'll see you tonight and I want to know what you made. I know you will do me and your mother proud." he said. He kissed the top of my head, grabbed his suitcase and walked out the door. I sat there and waited until I heard the car pull away. Letting out a breath, I closed the book the captured my attention for three seconds.

I grabbed my bag and made my way to the living room. It wasn't large but it was big enough to hold two desks and a sofa. The desks sat facing each other on the far wall opposite of the fireplace. Memories flooded me as I looked around at the familiar setting.

**Nine years earlier**

"Mommy can you help me I don't understand this?" I looked at the woman who was sitting across from me. She stood up and walked over to me to see what I was doing. I could sense the teacher in her kick in and she walked toward my desk.

"Well that's why you're confused, you're using the wrong formula it's not A5 +F3 =W. Its M=Q2 -7Y. My silly girl. Now lets look at this one again using the right one." I looked back down at the paper and tried to figure it out.

"Hold on, are you sure Y is 4. Take another look at your question. Yup there you go so what's your answer?" After plugging in what ever variables I had, I looked back at my formula.

"It's 47 right?" I ask her looking back at my work to see if I could find something wrong. I look back at my mother to find her smiling back at me. In that one moment I could see that she was proud at me.

"Yes sweetie. See what you can do with the right formula?." She chuckled as she walked back to her desk.

**Present**

I could feel myself start to tear up at the memory of her helping me with school work. I look to the mantle of the fireplace where we kept all the photos. The most recent one of my mother was eight years old. I looked at it wondering where the time had gone. It was the last picture of us all. One of my father's co workers took it when we went to see father one day.

I reached out and touched the picture. I missed her but even I know you can't bring someone back from death. Sighing I looked to my watch, a simple standard watch given to all Erudite children on their sixteenth birthday, 6:38am.

_Another twenty minutes until school starts and two till the bus comes. Great. Maybe the bus will be late today._ I thought running out the door making sure it was locked before jogging to the bus stop where my fellow classmates were. Unfortunately I wasn't all that lucky. The bus passed me and stopped where I was supposed to be standing five minutes ago. I didn't bother running any more since I knew no matter how hard I ran I was never going to make it with these books in my bag. I almost said screw it and dropped the books, almost.

Walking to school wasn't as bad as it seemed. I got time to think about what was going to happen when I walked into the school today. I wondered what I was going to have to do and if I would pass it.

Moments later I felt someone arm around my shoulders. I instinctively moved out of the arms reach. I looked back to the person who grabbed me.

"Tony, why do you always do that? How many times have I told you don't touch me?" I said pleading with him to understand. He looked at me with a smirk.

"Ok but how are you going to beat people up if you don't like to be touched? Oh I know I'll just do it for you, like I always do." He said sarcastically. I smile back at him . It wasn't completely a lie I didn't know how to shut my mouth sometimes, which usually resulted in Tony standing up for me and beating the kid up. He was the best brother I never had.

"So what do you think we're going to be doing for the test, Miss Know-it-all." He said joking around.

"Well for Abnegation we have to eat plain food and hold the door open for each other. Hey here's a great idea how about you practice and grab the door for me." I said earning a look from him.

"I was being serious Jess." He said opening the door or me and himself and closing it before the kids behind us could grab for it. I scowled at him but kept walking toward the cafeteria. Before we go in we wish each other luck and walk to the separate tables. I grabbed the book from this morning and once again faked reading it.

After what felt like eternity I could hear my name being called with Tony's following it. We looked at each other before entering the rooms we were stationed at.

I took a deep breath and cautiously walked into the room. It was a plain room, almost like the abnegation houses we saw in pictures. In the center sat a chair and next to it was a woman in black clothes. She stood up and shut the door behind me. I turned to look at her again and could see a tattoo of a bird on her chest. I looked back at the chair so It wasn't awkward.

" Hello I'm Drea and I'll be administering your test. Sit down and drink this." she said reading something off the monitor. I sat but refused to take the glass.

"What is the liquid?" I asked knowing my Erudite self was showing. Drea was starting to hook wires up to me as I watched her.

"What is with you Erudite, you think we are really going to poison you?" I looked at her warily for a moment and grabbed the glass out of her hand. I opened my mouth and poured it in. I felt fine until I blacked out.

Moments later I found myself waking up in the same chair but something was different. The woman wasn't there. I looked around when a voice pulled me from thought.

"Choose." It said. It was a woman's voice but not one I could recognize. I turned and saw two tables, one held a block of cheese and the other a knife. I glanced between the two objects my hand twitching to grab the knife but I couldn't move my arm to grab it. Instead I stepped back away from the tables. The tables disappeared and in their place stood a dog. When he started to growl at me, I stood me ground but adverted my eye as to not challenge him. I looked up when the growling stopped and saw a puppy Instead of the dog. I knelt and motioned the dog over, which he came over instantly. A small smile grew on my face when the dog licked me. I start to pet him when a giggle grabbed my attention. I whip around to see a little girl. She's smiling and pointing at the dog. I felt a brush against my leg as the dog ran past me, not wanting the dog to hurt the girl I ran after him and jumped. I didn't collide with the dog or floor, I just kept falling until I hit the floor of a bus. I stand up and dust myself off.

"Do you know this man? Please tell me if you know him." A man said shoving a paper to my face. I looked at the man and didn't get any inkling of who he was, But I knew him from somewhere.

"No I don't know him." I could tell he was frustrated.

"You're lying, you could save me but instead you lie to save him." I move away from the man and the scene goes black. I open my eyes to find myself back in the room with Drea.

"Jessica, you're test results were inconclusive." She said, I looked up at her in shock.

"No that can't be the test is supposed to tell me what faction I belong in. There is only supposed to be one." I said more to myself then to her.

"The test only ruled out two factions, you're not because you lied to the man and you're not Amity either since you didn't take the cheese, and you were drawn toward the knife which taking it or not was a Dauntless trait. You threw yourself at the dog which would have results for Abnegation but once the man said you could save him you still lied. Also you chose to look away from the dog but hold your ground and falls under both Dauntless and Erudite. So as complex as all that was, the only category you truly fall under is Divergent. Be warned though You must not tell anyone that information, It could get you killed."

I looked at the woman, I could feel my head spinning and bile rose from my stomach. The next thing I knew I was laying in the nurses office with Tony at my side.

"Jess, thank god you're awake. I thought I going to have to dump water on you to get you up." Tony looked at me with a smile but I could see the fear in his eyes. My father walked in the room next and saw me awake.

"Ok Dauntless you can leave now that you saw her alive. Jessica why is it that you ever made friends with one of them." My father said before Tony could leave the room. I watched as he left trying to apologize to him without words. Once out of the door he turned around and mocked my father before leaving.

"I don't know dad, he does come in handy sometimes." I said as Tony left.

"Well come on my little Erudite lets go home." He said. We drove home in silence and once home I went straight to my room to go to sleep before the 'Big Day' tomorrow.


	2. Something Blue to Something New

Ok so I was going to make this chapter and the next into one big chapter but decide against it since this is already long. I won't be able to work on the next chapter until I get home from the hospital, my baby brother needs to get eye surgery done on Monday and I'm already a nervous wreak. I will hopfully get it up before next year.

I want to thank all my readers without you guys I wouldn't have bothered rewriting this. Don't forget to review!

I still only own what you don't know... Happy (Insert holiday here)...

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Smash… Bang…

I could hear the sound of things being thrown downstairs. I look at the clock, 4:26 am. 'Really dad you have to get drunk today?' I thought as I was putting my shoes on. I slowly opened the door and walked down the stairs. The kitchen light was on and I could see my father standing in the middle of the room.

"Dad it's almost four thirty how about we go back to bed. I'll even skip my morning jog so I can make breakfast today." He whipped around at the sound of my voice, the glass he was going to throw was forgotten for the moment.

"I can even make chocolate chip pancakes, Like mom use to." He got angry at the mention of his deceased wife. I watched him carefully as he sat the glass down on the table. Making his way over to me, I turned to lead him to bed. I never saw him raise his hand, but I felt them on my shoulders. He spun me around to look at me in the face.

"You're going to leave me aren't you? That's why you want to skip your jogging to spend time with me before you leave. You are just like your mother, selfish. You know she was from Abnegation. She was raised to be selfless but instead she was selfish. That's why she's not here anymore. She was too selfish, all she wanted was power. And now you're going to leave to."

I felt him grab for my throat. His fingers wrapped around it and I couldn't pull it away. I felt the bruises coming on. This always happened when he was drunk, I guess it being choosing day only made it worse. Releasing my throat, I felt him start punching me in the stomach and I doubled over in pain. He pushed me to the ground and started to kick me in the ribs. I could feel the bruises coming on.

I could hear him shouting something but couldn't make out the noise. I felt him grab my hair and pull me to the door. I could hear the door opening and felt the chilled air blow in the house.

"If you think you got it better in a different faction then good luck because I will make sure you will live factionless." He said before throwing my out on the stoop and kicking my down the cement steps. I could feel the blood pouring out of a cut on my head. I looked back at the man I once called father. He was standing there with a smug look on his face. He started toward me,getting up I brushed of my night-clothes and ran hoping to get away from my abuser. I felt sick and my vision was blurred. I rounded the corner and kept running. Getting toward another corner I tripped over something. I remember hitting the pavement, I could hear shouting and some commotion before being lifted by foreign arms. I blacked out soon after that.

**Zeke's POV**

I could hear someone running down an alley. I ran down the side of the road looking for the right one. Not to far in front of me I saw a girl running out of the alley and tripped over her own feet. As I got closer I realized she was the girl from last night, the same one.

"Zeke to Max and Eric, I have an issue, over." I said into the radio on my shoulder. I hear static until a voice interrupted it.

"Yeah Zeke, What's your issue now, over." the snarky leader replied, I didn't mind Max but it was his cohort I didn't have much tolerance for.

"There's a girl down. She's bruised and have a cut on the left side of her head. You guys might wanna come check it out, over." I said to the speaker.

"Copy, on our way." Max and Eric took no time getting to my location. Eric moved closer to the girl to see if she was a factionless, something I already answered.

"And you said she's the girl you ran into yesterday. Are you sure?" Max asked. I nodded to him and watched as Eric picked the girl up.

"She's badly injured. if she doesn't get medical attention for her head it will bleed out in no time." I heard Eric say to Max.

"Take Zeke with you to Erudite's infirmary. Leave her there and meet me in my office when you're done." Eric looked at our leader. I could tell he wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut. I wondered what it was he was holding back. Max left without another word. When he was out of sight I saw Eric turn in the direction of our compound.

"I won't leave her here. She will only be in more danger." He said more to himself then to me.

"Ok so where are we going to take her? If she's not staying here, no, you're taking her to Dauntless. Eric If Max find out he'll kill you. No one defies him, not even you." I said, I might not like the guy but we did have a mutual friendship, both being from the same initiation year.

"Zeke, you don't know what these people are like. Anyway I don't care what Max is going to say because he is not going to find out, right?" The leader looked at

me, I could only nod at him. We walked until we hit the outskirts of the compound.

"Here take her I have to find Four before I meet with Max." he said taking his jacket off and draping it over the girls figure.

"If anyone asks tell 'em she fell asleep in a hall and you were taking her to her parents. You only wanted to make sure she woke up before the choosing ceremony. Bring her to Lauren's, she'll know what to do. She's good at that shit." The leader and I made for our separate ways when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Eric once again.

"Don't let her leave your sight, I will bring you Erudite clothes when I'm done with Max." He said quickly and parted ways.

Luckily I didn't meet anyone on my way to Lauren's place. Once there I kicked on the door since my hands were occupied. I could hear the screaming from the girl inside, along with some talking coming down one of the halls. She whipped the door open and I ran in and closed the door behind me.

"Zeke, What the hell and who is…" I looked at her to get her to shut up and kept close to the door until the voices faded. Letting go of a breath I didn't even know I was holding, I looked at my best friend. She must haven't gotten much sleep lately, judging by the bags under her eyes, she must still be preparing for the initiates.

"Ok first I need your help, then I'll explain everything. Clear your table off, this girl ain't as light as she looks and grab the first aid kit, she's going to need you ability ." Without further question she did as I asked. I placed the girl on the table and move her head carefully to the side.

Lauren came back and gasped as she saw the cuts and bruises that littered the girls body. I could tell she had some hidden beneath her shirt, Lauren slowly lifted it to the bottom of her bra. Her face and neck were bad but what her shirt hid was much worse. I looked back up a Lauren and we both thought the same thing, someone had abused her. I thought back to earlier, to what Eric had said after Max left. 'She will only be in more danger.' I wondered if my youngest leader knew what would have had happened to the girl if I hadn't found her.

I didn't notice Lauren cleaning the girl's wound until she spoke.

"Ok, she might need a stitch or two, but other than that she'll live. So tell me why I have an abused Erudite child on my table in Dauntless." She said starting to stitch the girl's wound back closed. I kept quite looking for the right words to say.

"I was patrolling Erudite again tonight, looking for the factionless behind the attacks. I heard running down one of the alleys and went to check it out. Then she stumbled out of one. Knocked herself unconscious from the cement. I called for Max and Eric to come check it out. When they got there Eric said she would bleed out if she didn't get medical attention. Max ordered us to take her to Erudite's infirmary. When he was out of sight, Eric brought her here, told me not to say a thing about her being Erudite and bring her to you, said you would know what to do." I stopped in my monologue and looked to my friend. She looked at the girl and I could she what she saw,her dead sister, Emily.

I didn't know the words to say to tell her that the girl in front of her wasn't her Em. I saw the hurt once again return for years ago. I pulled her into a hug and felt her start to shake. I knew the pain she felt, losing a loved one, but because of our faction, we risk our lives everyday to help other factions. We stood there for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"Go ahead and put her on the couch, we'll let her sleep a bit longer. do we know how old she is and if she's going to the choosing ceremony?" I shook my head. We didn't even know her name, I thought back to see if I could remember anything about her but nothing useful came to mind.

Out of nowhere there was a knocking on the door. Lauren and I both got up to answer it, as she opened the door I could see a mess of dark brown hair. I breathed a sigh of relief as Lauren let Four in. He was holding something blue in his hands and put it on the table.

"So I take it Eric sent you in to alter the surveillance video? That's why he need to find you before talking to Max." I asked looking at the man I chose for a brother. Ever since initiation year, the three of us have been closer than friends, making a small family which also included my younger brother Uriah. I saw him nod and relaxed a little bit.

"He also suspects that she was victim to abuse. Thought I should be here when she wakes up." He shook his head in distraught, I was one of the few people who knew Four was abused as a child. Unfortunately, so was Eric. I glanced over to Lauren's clock it read 6:30am.

"Well might as well get a few hours of sleep. You guys can get the bed I'll sleep in the chair, that way she won't be completely freaked when she wakes up." I could hear Lauren say but nothing really sunken in. I could feel my feet moving in a robotic fashion making my way to the bed. I remember back to after we finished training and we were members. We would sleep in someone apartment with them so they didn't feel completely alone. I closed my eyes and didn't wake up until I heard an ear-splitting scream.

**Jessica's POV**

I rolled over on something that seemed rougher than my bed. I opened my eyes and saw I was in an unfamiliar room. I sat up and looked, I saw a girl sleeping in a chair to the left of the couch. I quietly stood up and pad my way to the door at open it slightly. Making sure the girl remained sleeping, I open the door at snuck out. I wasn't even able to turn around or close the door before I felt a hand cover my mouth and was pushed back into the room. The hand didn't remove itself until we were in the room, once it was off my face I screamed. The girl in the chair woke up instantly and I heard a loud thump come for the other room.

Once again there was a hand across my mouth.

"Who the hell is screaming… Oh it's you. What time is it?" I say the boy from the other night come out of the room. The girl popped into view after the boy left.

"Ok listen to me. We are not going to hurt you, you were running last night and fell. Zeke, the boy who just left, he found you and brought you here. Are you going to scream again?" The girl looked at me, I couldn't tell if she was lying but I do remember running and hitting my head. I slowly nodded and felt the hand slowly move away from my mouth.

Once I was free from the stranger I move out of his reach. I wondered why they brought me here instead of Erudite's headquarters where the infirmary, of course the medics would know who I was and send me home with nothing to help me. Erudite doesn't believe in abuse so they would assume that I beat myself for attention, since they all know my father they wouldn't believe a word I said against him.

I looked between the pair of them, not wanting to trust either, the boy from the other night came walking out of the other room. His once dark hair looked darker and it clung to his face.

"Ok look blue chick… like it you not we did get you out of there, and we haven't harmed you, we only helped. Now if you want to leave you have to wait until the choosing ceremony, it's in an hour." The boy named Zeke said. I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head. I moved my fingers to graze the wound and found it was sewn shut to prevent bleeding.

"You're going to have a scar but other than that it will be fine. Anyway I'm Lauren and this is Four and you kind of know Zeke. Were sorry for not letting you leave but no one knows you're here and it is important they don't." the girl Lauren said. I looked at her, she was smaller than the boy but taller than me. Her brown hair was ruffled but still pulled back to get it out of her face. I knew that if I wanted to leave here alive, I had to act nicely.

"If you don't mind me asking how old are you and what do we call you?" Four asked the question this time, I was surprised that he could actually talk.

"Six...sixteen, I'm sixteen and my name is…" I wasn't sure if I could tell them my name or not. If they were going to do something to me than the would have done it while I slept. I looked to the floor.

"Jessica." I sighed. glancing up to Lauren. She looked at me like my mother use to.

"Well Jessica, how about you get a shower before you go that way people won't think you slept outside all night." Lauren told me and guided me toward the bathroom. After telling me where to find everything and showing me how to work the shower, she left without another word.

I examined myself in the mirror, the stitches give me a tough girl look and all the dirt on my face looks like I just got done wrestling with a pig. I shed my clothing to see how bad my torso looked in the light. I couldn't see any pale skin from the middle of my stomach to the bottom of my breasts. It was all a blackish blue hue and hurt when I grazed my hand over it. I sighed and stepped into the warm shower. It didn't take long to finish washing my self down. I turned to water off and grabbed a towel. Stepping out of the shower I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Jessica, it's Lauren, I have some clothes. They're not blue, but they will help you blend in with us for the moment. We also have a blue dress for the choosing ceremony." I cracked the door open a took the clothes from the now visible hand. I was left to dress in peace. After drying my hair I pulled it up in a messy bun without brushing it for two reasons, one I didn't want to use Laurens brush without her permission, and my hair is not very brush-able when wet. I stepped out of the bathroom and into the sitting room where all of them sat talking. I stood there with my old clothing and her towel not knowing what to do with either.

"Jessica, I hope you're hungry. Zeke kinda went overboard with breakfast. Here give me those, umm do you still want these?"She asks, I shook my head no before she handed the clothes to Four. He got up and left only to return moments later lacking the clothing and smelled like smoke. I looked to the table and found it filled with all kinds of food from cereal to waffles and everything in-between. I smiled a little when I saw the chocolate chip pancakes. Lauren handed me a plate and looked at my hair.

"What happened to your hair it's like a rat's nest, you could have used my brush I don't mind, here I'll get it and start on your hair while you eat." She said rushing out of the room. I tried to say don't worry about it but she was gone before I could open my mouth. I looked toward the boys wondering if I should indulge myself or not. In Erudite it is considered unhealthy for the mind and body to eat a lot. I ended up just taking a few pancakes before settling down to eat. Lauren came back moments later, hairbrush in hand. She made me sit on her stool at the table while she brushed my hair and I ate. Once she was done, I pulled it into my usual bun. I thanked Lauren and finished my breakfast. After I finished my plate was whisked away and put in the sink.

"Alright now the hard part. Jessica, I have to bandage your stomach, we were going to last night but didn't want to hurt you to bad." Lauren said, I could tell it really needed to be braced by the way it looked when I was in the bathroom. I nodded my head and looked to the boys wondering if she was going to do it in front of them. I didn't care if another girl saw but having guys around while my stomach was exposed was awkward for me. Lauren seemed to know what I was thinking.

"Unfortunately at least one of them have to be here to help, I'm sorry."I could tell by the sound of her voice that she truly was sorry. I sighed and nodded. I saw Lauren motion Zeke out of the room. My back was stiff as a board and my hands trembling when Four came over to me.

"It's ok just breath, you're going to have to lift up your shirt." I could hear Four from behind me whisper into my ear. My hands were trembling as I reached for the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up to the top of the wound. I closed my eyes tightly wishing I was somewhere else. I felt a gentle hand slowly putting on some kind of paste like substance. All the while Four was standing behind my trying to get me to not hyperventilate. I felt the hand being replaced by cloth and

it started to wrap around my body.

"There that's done and just in time too. Hey Zeke you think you can get her to the train in twenty minutes." Lauren said to the boy exiting the other room. I looked over to him and he was smiling, somehow I didn't like where this was going.


	3. Starting Over

I could hear the train coming as Zeke busted out of the doorway with me over his shoulder. He carefully placed me on the ground and looked at me with another smile.

"And Lauren thought we weren't going to make it." He said with a laugh. I started to get nervous when I could see the train fast approaching.

"Just stay with me, I wont leave you I promise." Zeke whispered to me so the others couldn't hear. The train was getting closer by the second, I felt a hand grab mine and pulled me into a run. I saw the first few cars pass us and some of the other kids jumped on with no trouble. I could feel a tugging on my arm as Zeke jumped into the car next to us letting go of my hand to grab the rail. He held out a hand and I grabbed for it. I muffle a scream as my ribs collide with the train floor with the other kids. I closed my eyes and let out a breath.

I could feel someone start kicking my boot. I opened an eye to see if it was Zeke, but instead it was a different boy, I could make out the black messy mop he had for hair, and his piercing green eyes, almost the color of emerald. I knew this kid for somewhere but I couldn't place the resemblance. The boy sat down next to me and move his head next to mine to whisper to me.

"Jess, What are you doing here? Why are you not at home getting ready? Do you want to be Factionless this early in the game?" My eyes snapped open and I looked to the green eyes that I have known for years.

"Tony, I won't be factionless relax. I'll have to tell you later why I'm here but just know that I'm never going to Erudite again. Please trust me when I say the place is a living hell." I looked at him trying to make him understand and change his mind about his dream faction. Zeke nudged me from the other side and motioned for us to get up to leave. I could see the Hub and other factions now, and started to get nervous again.

"Time to show you some real fun." Zeke said pulling me to the back. I could feel Tony grab my other hand as we ran out the open door and fell to the ground. Luckily the two holding me were holding me up or I would have fallen. I couldn't believe I jumped, then again being drugged and jumping on my own accord are two different things but I still landed on my feet.

"Ok, we have to find an empty room." Zeke said looking down the hallway to find and empty way. I didn't take long though. I hear Tony and Zeke talking about something while Zeke pulled blue material out of his bag. He threw it at me and I scrambled to put it on to hide the clothing I currently wore. Once it was on I looked up to find both boys missing. I rolled my eyes and left the room making my way to the top floor.

I saw a pair of Abnegation adults holding the doors open when I reached the top. I walked in and saw Tony and the other 16 year olds standing at the back of the room. There were names on the wall and I realized they were last names. I was relieved to find me and Tony next to each other. I walked over to my friend smiling.

"Now can you tell me why you were at dauntless?" He asked. I sighed knowing that I couldn't hide it forever. I looked at the only friend I have ever had.

"You know how I hate Erudite and being touched and how I don't want you to go to Erudite? Well its because... I-I..." I sighed not knowing how to say what I need to. How can I tell someone that I have been abused. I look back at Tony and pull down the neck of the dress and the shirt knowing the bruises were still there. I couldn't look at him as he saw my true weakness. I moved the cloth back in place and looked to the stage where the representative from Candor stood talking about the history of the factions. I felt fingers brush mine and I held my breath to stop from crying.

"Jess, your father can't follow you if you choose a different faction. I think its time to stop playing someone you're not. Start doing what you want to, like the damn Amity say, it's time to write your own destiny." I heard Tony say before he left my side to choose his faction. I saw as he approached the bowls with his Dauntless demeanor. He took the knife and drew it across the palm of his hand.I saw as he turned to the Erudite bowl. I almost shouted to him until I saw his hand shoot over to the coals and he dropped the blood that was pooled in his hand. I watched as he walked over to the Dauntless. He looked to me and smiled.

"Pelton, Jessica" I took a deep breath as I walked to the stage. I climbed the three short steps and made my way to the five bowls. The Candor woman held out a platter that contained the newly cleaned knife. I grabbed it by the cold metal handle and looked at my reflection in it. _Who are you...? What are you...?_ I thought. I remembered back to what my teacher said yesterday. _Trust the test_. _I knew who I was, what I was, I wasn't smart or kind, nor was I selfless or honest but I was brave. I was brave when my mother was killed, I was brave when my father started abusing me, I was brave when I ran away this morning. I might not feel brave but I have to be brave to leave my father._

As I slip the knife across my palm I looked over to Erudite. I found my father's eyes almost instantly.

"Come home" I read his lips. I looked to the Dauntless bowl and moved my hand over it. I took one last glance at my father as the blood dripped from my hand on the sizzling coals, and just like that I could feel the ties between us cut. I was free.

I walked off the stage and over to Zeke and Tony. I stood between the two leaning on Tony, a smile plastered on my face. The ceremony ended moments later when an Abnegation girl transferred to Amity. I felt Tony and Zeke both start pulling my arms as we ran down the stairs.

Once out of the building I was ushered into the middle of the group running with Zeke on my left and Tony on my right. I couldn't tell where the other transfers were, but to say the least, I really didn't care.

We ran until we reached the supports for the train tracks that were at least 20 feet above us. I watched as Zeke started to climb on of the pillars, I looked behind me to find Tony ushering me up next. I could feel the cold metal under my sweaty hands. To say I was a little nervous was an understatement. I kept climbing knowing Tony would catch me if I fell. Once I reached the top I felt a few hands grab for me and I was helped on to the platform. I looked around from where I stood on the tracks. I could see there were 11 of us transfers, four from Erudite and Candor and three from Amity.

Zeke pulls me off the tracks as the train comes into view. I get pulled once more into a run as Tony jump on the train and reaches out for my hand. I almost trip reaching for it but he caught me and swung me in, reaching out again to help Zeke. We sat in the same order as when we left the compound, Zeke next to the door with me on his left and Tony on my left. I closed me eyes for a moment to catch my breath when a nudge disrupted me.

"Come on Jess we gotta jump." Tony said to me. I looked at him when I stood up and looked out of the door. _Why me_, I thought to myself. I grabbed a hold of Tony's hand and we counted to three then jumped. I felt weightless in the air. I would have fallen if Zeke wasn't there to catch me. _Damn I love these guys. _I thought. I looked down to see the blue dress I currently wore. I grabbed the hem of it to take it off when a knife materialized in front of me. I grabbed it and quickly my body free from the fabric. I handed the knife back to the owner when somebody called for our attention.

I could see two people standing near the edge, one male and the other looked familiar. The man was talking but I wasn't listening, my attention was on the woman next to him. I didn't notice until I felt someone's hands on my back.

"Don't worry just jump." I heard Zeke say. He pushed me to the front of the crowd. I looked back at him and he motioned to the edge of the building where the guy was standing. I slowly walk over to the edge and look over. I could see a large hole but not much after that. I got up on the side and took a deep breath. I turn to look back to Zeke and Tony, they both give me a thumbs up. I took a step forward into the empty air and felt gravity take over. I let out a laugh as I felt once again weightless. I was still laughing when my back collided with something and it sprung me back to the sky. A net, that's what they were scared of.

I could see four hands reach out of me. I grabbed for them, the end of the net came closer into view as the hands pulled. I rolled off the end and felt hands grab me before I fell, Four was standing on my left bearing a small smile. I looked at my right and saw another guy with a few facial piercing and what looked to be tattoos on his neck. I could see confusion in his eyes and then he just walked away. I looked back at Four to see that he was trying to talk to me.

"Do you want to keep your name or choose a new one?" I thought for a moment.

"Dru. I want to be Dru." I said. He smiled at me.

"First jumper, Dru" He shouted to the already noisy crowd.

He motioned for me to stand over near Lauren. She bore a huge smile once I got to her and ended up giving me a slight rough hug. I smiled through the pain. _This is where I belong, I have a few friends already who are members already and my best friend is going through initiation with me._ I thought with a huge smile when Tony jumped seconds after me. He ran over to me and Lauren and we stood talking about the ceremony.

"Hey Lauren, Who was the other guy at the net when Four helped me off?" I asked.

"Don't go screwing with that man Jess..er... Dru. he is not one to mess around. He is sadistic and ruthless. You don't need to cross paths with Eric." Tony looked almost pale when Lauren said the man's name.

"That man is the reason I wanted to leave, I'm glad he's not overseeing training this year." Tony's input really affected me. Why would someone like Tony be afraid of a guy like Eric? I couldn't help but wonder if he was a transfer and if so was he abused like me? I felt someone put their hands on me, I whipped around and punched the person in the jaw. Only when I saw the person on the ground holding clutching his jaw did I realize it was Zeke.

"If you punch like that during the fights then I might have to stop them after your first throw." Four said to me as he helped Zeke of the ground. I could hear Tony and Lauren behind me laughing.

After everyone got a hold of themselves Four and Lauren lead the group of initiates through the dark hallways.

"Dauntless-born I hope you don't need a tour of the place. Let's go." Lauren said, Zeke and Tony threw me an apologetic look and ran to follow the small group. I and the other transfers follow a silent Four through the semi-dark hallways. It seemed like forever until Four started to speak. He stopped and turned to face us. I stood the closest to him compared to the other.

"I usually work in the control room but for the next few weeks I am your instructor, My name in Four. First I'm going to show you the Pit. It is the center life of Dauntless and you will come to love it." He said resuming to walk, I walked behind him.

"First Four now the Pit. I wonder who comes up with these names." Four stopped abruptly and turned around, almost causing me to run into him. I watched as he walked up to the boy.

"What is your name?" Four asked.

"Chris." the boy said.

"Well Chris, If I wanted to put up with Candor I would have joined the faction. Got it?" Four said dangerously low. I couldn't help myself and giggled a little. As Four walked back to the front, he hit me in the back of the head. I looked at him annoyed and kept walking behind him.

We finally got to a set of double doors, Four pushed them open and stepped to the side. I walked through and saw the Pit. I could see that there were stores carved into the walls. The walkways were narrow strips of rock about 6 ft. wide with no railings. Music pulsed from the bottom of the Pit and I looked down to see a crowd of people dancing to the loud music.

"With me initiates." Four said over the music. I walked closer to Four grabbing the edge of his shirt so I didn't get lost, as we walked through the mess of people dancing around us. Once we got to the other side, I quickly let go and watched the rest of them fight their way through. We follow Four to a corner of the pit that seemed darker that the rest of it.

"The chasm reminds us that there is a thin line between bravery and idiocy. Jump off the ledge and you will die. Happens every year, you have been warned." He said in a bored tone. I test the railing and find it sturdy, leaning over I look towards the bottom and feel the cool spray on my face.

"Amazing." I whisper to no one.

"Yeah it is." A female voice next to me spoke up scaring me for a moment ."Sorry I'm Ali. Do you really think people would jump off here?"

"Yeah, I don't think Four would tell us if it wasn't true." I replied. Four motions for us to follow him again. I hurry to follow Four with Ali on my heels. We walk into the dining hall together, I didn't notice Four leave until I saw him at a table with Lauren and Zeke. I walked over and sat next to Four with Ali on my other side and Lauren across from me. We were silent until the guy with the facial piercings, Eric, came over to our table.

"So Four, care to introduce me to your little group, well the ones that I don't already know." Four looks at him and starts naming the people, some I don't even know.

"...Chris, Wes, Ali… and Dru."Four said my name almost unwillingly. I could see that my friends didn't like this guy, I couldn't understand it though he didn't look all that scary.

"So you know Max wants to see you right, He keeps hounding on me to try and see why you won't go to the meetings he's requested you for." Eric said. I watched Eric out of the corner of my eye, not trusting him in the very least. He must have saw me because he turned his gaze on me. I looked back at my food but knew it was too late.

"And what do we have here, a noisy initiate, well you wanna know how we fix that?" Eric looks at me and smirks. He pulls a knife out of his boot and holds it to the side of my head, right above my ear. I could see Lauren jump from her seat and a knife was in her hand pointed at Eric. I just looked him in the eyes hoping my face was as void of emotion as Fours usually was. I heard him chuckle a little and felt the cold metal move from the side of my face. Lauren put her knife away after he left and kicked me under the table.

"You know, I'm starting to think you have a death wish." Allison said.

"I told you to play it safe around him. Your don't want him as an enemy Dru, trust me." I could hear Lauren say in her motherly tone.

After we finished dinner, we finished the tour with Eric.

"You know he keeps staring at you right. I mean he's not even trying to hide it." Ali said for what seemed like the million times. I looked at her like I wanted to strangle her.

"Do me a favor, Shut Up!" we laugh. Eric must have heard the laughing because while Ali and I were talking he ended up in front of me and I bumped into him. I looked at him and saw that he wasn't moving so I side stepped him and kept going.

"Death wish, I swear." She whispered. I smiled. We go down a bunch of hallways and stop when we reach a wooden door.

"For those who don't know, my name is Eric. I'm one of the five leaders of Dauntless. We take initiation very seriously here." He said pacing in front of the door. "Some rules, Training starts at eight o'clock in the morning and ends at six, there will be a break for lunch. I expect you all to be in the room by eight no later. After six you can do whatever you like. You are not to leave the Dauntless compound without a Dauntless member. This is where you will be sleeping, you will notice that there are ten beds and eleven of you we expected one of you to die getting off the train. There are three stages, the first will test you physically, the second mentally and the last will be a combination of the two." Eric said looking straight at me. I glared at him.

"We separate Dauntless-born and initiates in the first stage, but your rankings will be comp... "

"Rankings? Why are we ranked?" asked a blond hair Erudite girl to my left. Eric smiled.

"Your ranking serves two purposes, the first is that there are only a _few_ decent jobs available and the top ranked will get first pick." His smile seemed to get darkened " The second is that only the top ten are made members. So that means eleven of you are leaving. Wow what shame you _all_ might have to leave." I could tell the surprise in his face was fake.

"That's not fair if we had..." Wes started but Eric cut him and all the others that were starting to argue.

"So if you knew, then you would still would have came to Dauntless? I doubt any one of you would have came if you knew." He said getting mad.

"I know I still would have came." I whispered to Ali not looking at Eric. A sudden heat source jumped in front of me. I looked up at the massive life form that is towering over me. I looked at him neither in moving.

"Did you want to run that by me again." He asked. I smiled a little and pretended to think a little.

"Nope." I said simply making sure I popped the p, he looked at me frustrated.

"Everyone in the dorm. NOW!" He shouted without breaking our eye contact. I heard the shuffling of feet trying to get away. I knew he wanted to scream at me for defying him, So I stayed rooted to the ground glaring at him.

Once the door was shut he spoke.

"Why is it that everytime I try to do something you are there to make a joke out of it. I think you broke the record of being the first initiate to absolutely piss me off within the first few hours of being here." he said trying not to scream.

"I don't know maybe you shouldn't act like you're big and bad and maybe I won't piss you off as much. You should be more like...Four." I said. I felt his hand wrap around my neck, not tightly like I would have expected but enough to make me take a step back.

"Get out of my face." I nodded and moved from in front of him. I reached the door to the co-ed room when it clicked. He wore a blue watch, he was from Erudite, and it explained lot. I opened the door to find everyone watching me. I walked over to Ali and sat on her bed thinking of where I could sleep.

"You can share with me, if you want? I don't mind." Ali said, I give her a small smile but refuse.

"I think I'm going to take a walk, then I'll figure out what I'll do. Thank you anyway." I said standing back up and walking out the door. I head down to the Pit, maybe I could find somebody I knew. I could hear the music, It seemed louder than it this afternoon.

"Dru… Hey why are you down here, you should be going to bed you're starting training."I heard Lauren over the music.

"I don't have a place to stay, co-ed dorms are full, apparently someone was supposed to die jumping off the train." I screamed back to her. She nodded and lead me away from the music. We kept walking until we reached a hallway filled with doors.

"Ok, you're not supposed to be here but since you have no where else to stay, you're staying here. If anyone asks tell them you found a place for the moment. don't tell them where. Most of the people on this floor are on the fence for the next few weeks. Four's apartment is 251, mine's of course 253 and Zeke's is 255." She said pointing to the right doors. I looked to them as she pointed. She opened the door to her place and motioned to the two doors opposite of each other where the other apartments were.

"You can get to either of them through my place. I used to have a roommate but she moved out so you got a room to yourself." She said throwing me a key.

"Lauren, why are you doing this? You don't have to you know?"

"You remind me of my sister. I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most, so now I'm going to be there for you." She started to tear up, I walked over and hugged her not knowing what to say.

"Thank you, for everything."I whispered.

"Your welcome, now lets get your bed made so you can go to bed. You still have training tomorrow." She said.

I layed in the bed knowing I should be sleeping. I rolled over to the clock and it read 23:48. I couldn't help but think about the new life I had started today. Maybe Tony was right, I could write my own destiny, I didn't know how it was going to go but I knew that I wasn't leaving Dauntless. I might need to work hard but I have friends here and maybe the start to the family that I have always wanted.


	4. Shatter Me

I know it's been awhile, I have gone through Major writers block with this chapter. The good news is I think I got over it... Finally. Any who I know its short and I'm sorry but I hope you review, I do love reading them 'hint, hint'.

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"Today we are going to be learning how to shoot a gun." I could hear Four's voice over the crowd. A nudge took my attention away from him and on to the girl that stood to my right.

"If Four shoots at us for talking, you're going first." I mumbled to Ali. She looked at me with a half smile and got to her point.

"Where did you sleep last night? " She asked me. I looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"I just found a place to stay. So I heard you all got a rude awakening this morning." I said trying to change the subject. We turned to our targets as Ali recounted the tale of a few hours ago. I laughed to myself and started to shoot at the target.

I was nervous holding the gun for the first time but when I turned toward the target I saw a man I would love to put a bullet in, My father. I tried to shoot like Four did but it just didn't seem like it was going it work. I could see my father laughing at my incompetence to do it right. I don't know how many times I shot the gun but I never hit the target. After reloading the clip, I felt a body next to me. I felt them kicking my feet further apart and adjusting me.

"Shoot" A gruff voice said. I didn't take the time to think about who it was, I squeezed the trigger and felt the my eyes I looked for the hole, center of the target. I smiled and turned around to thank whoever it was when my eyes met blue. I knew them I just didn't want to believe it, Eric helped me. The thought sent butterflies through my stomach. I stopped smiling and looked back to the target. Instead my father standing there, I tried to imagine Eric, but I couldn't pull the trigger. I went back to trying to shoot the image of my father.

Four called for us to stop. I finally got a good look at my target. There was only one hole about the size of a bullet. Confused, I took the clip out of the gun to see how many bullets I shot. Twenty, twenty times I shot the gun and I got it in the same hole all times. I could see a shadow behind me and turned around. Four stood there looking over my shoulder.

The cafeteria wasn't all that busy when we got there but I saw Zeke and Lauren talking to a group of people. Grabbing Ali's hand, I pulled her over with me. I sat next to Lauren and Ali sat next to me looking scared.

"Hey girly, so how was shooting practice did you punch anyone? And who is this?" Lauren said when she saw us. Ali nudged me confused.

"No, and this is Ali, Ali this is Lauren, Zeke, and a bunch of people I don't know." I said with a smile. Lauren introduced us to the people we didn't know and we all talked enjoying the company of other members.

Zeke and Lauren left early to get the dauntless-born's thing ready. Ali and I left after them with good luck wishes following us out.

We walked around until we got to the training center. We were the first ones there so we decided to sit next to the farthest wall and talk.

"Ok so who gave you the bruises? hmmm?" Ali asked. I couldn't speak my mouth had gone dry and I couldn't seem to get the words out. I could feel the pain flash over my face. She grabbed my hand and there we sat until Four walked in and grabbed a chalkboard. We stood up and walked over to him curiosity getting the better of both of us.

"Whatcha' doin' Four?" I asked in a child like tone. He smirked looking from Ali to me.

"I'm ruining your evening. Is that alright with you?" He spoke to me like an older brother. I looked confused until more footsteps sounded down the hall. He motioned for us to step back and we waited for the rest of initiates. The heard of them came in and all took their places next to Ali and me while we waited for someone to tell us what was going on.

"For the rest of the day you will be working on your physical strength. I will be showing you some moves that you can practice on the punching bags." Four said to the group. I was anxious to punch something to get all this pent up frustration out of me. I watched Four as he showed us the right way to throw a punch. We were all given a bag and started to practice.

A sudden chill went down my spine and I turned around. I could see a figure in the doorway of the training center. Quickly averting my eyes, I tried to concentrate back to my punching bag. Another chill ran down my spine. I stepped back to catch a breath and bumped into something. My body turned rigid as I glanced back at the doorway and found it empty. Spinning around I started to apologize to Eric, until I saw Four and Ali trying to hold back a laugh behind him, and thanks to them, I laughed in Eric's face.

I never thought of being a punching bag for my first day of training. After laughing at Eric I spent the next hour as a punching bag for the three biggest initiates, Jon, Alex, and Matt, each about seven times bigger than me. Atleast I know where my new housing unit is for the next few weeks, or so they think.

"So heard you laughed at Er….ouch that looks really bad. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to make him wish he never did this. I'm going to… Wait what are you…. where do you think you're going?" I heard Lauren ask as I finished lacing my boots back up.

It hurt to move but I wasn't going to give Eric the pleasure of me being in the infirmary. I stood up but regretted it instantly. The room was spinning and look on Lauren's face kept spinning with it.

"Hehehe, ouch." came out of my mouth before I could stop it. After the room stopped spinning I looked at the clock. It was about halfway through dinner, that meant most of the people are still going to be there, including Eric. Gaining my balance I walk out of the infirmary on my own, with Lauren on my heels trying to yell at me for getting out of bed.

"Lauren I'm not going to stay in the damn infirmary and watch myself drop to factionless, besides I have been through worse. Fair warning if you look at me like I'm a kicked puppy again, I will slap you. Eric might have hurt me but he didn't shatter me, I'm not glass!" I screamed at her.

I heard a sigh coming from behind me. Then felt Laurem looped her arm with mine and we walked into the dining room.

"Just look straight, don't look around leave that to me." I wanted to see the look on Eric's face when I walked in, but looked forward with my head held high. Lauren on the other hand kept looking around so quickly I thought I was going to get whiplash. Getting to our table, we sat down and a plate landed in front of me loaded with meat, potatoes, and Dauntless cake. I ate while everyone gossiped about my incident with Eric.

"Four looked like he was going to gut Eric when he called for John and Alex, and we had to hold him back when he called Matt, literally Four being mad is an understatement." I heard Ali say. I looked across the table to Four and kicked him.

" Awwwe did somebody get a wittle mad at Eric for turning me into a punching bag?" I said loud enough that people near us heard me, the table busted out in a laughing fit at my comment. I smirked and watched as Eric walk out of the room.

"Wow I am exhausted. So if anyone needs me I will be sleeping." I said as Lauren, Zeke, Four, Tony, and Ali stood up with me . "Scratch that, I will be leading my army into battle apparently, Well onward troops." We all left and headed up to Laurens place. The next thing I knew I was standing face to face with the man responsible for my injuries and the only thing I felt like doing was kissing him.


	5. Find you

_Sorry I haven't been updating lately, I have been having writers block and got a new position at my job... Hope you all like this chapter, Tell me what you think. _

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_Thank god, it was only a dream. A horrible dream that I wanted to kiss Eric. Blah, what the hell is wrong with me? _I thought as Lauren and Zeke came in to jump on me while Four stood by the doorway and laughed. I sit up and yawn and hitting Zeke while I stretch. Lauren was trying to get past Four at the door when I stood up and jumped her. We laughed while rolling around on the floor.

"Come on guys we gotta go wake the others now." Four said to the older two. I laughed internally as they pulled themselves off of my floor. I stood and went to get changed when a voice stopped me.

"Hey I know you're still hurting from yesterday, so meet us at the training room in about an hour, the rest are going to go for a run." Four told me. I looked over to his tall frame that still stood in the doorway and smiled politely.

"Thanks but I'm not going to show Eric weakness, If you guys are going running then count me in to." He hid a small smile, nodded once and left to wake the others. As soon as he was gone I groaned. Why would I tell him that I could have slept a little longer? It was true I didn't want to show Eric weakness but I didn't even know if he was going to go running with us and after that dream I wasn't sure I wanted to see him. Sighing I grabbed my clothing and headed into the bathroom.

The lights momentarily blinded me as I flipped the light switch on. I slowly opened my eyes and looked in the mirror that hung opposite of the door. I could see that black and blues covering my left shoulder and more would follow when I lifted my shirt. I could only hope that I didn't have to fight today or for the rest of my life. I turned from the mirror and got ready for my shower.

The water felt good on my skin, giving me a sort of relief on my shoulder as the warm water relaxed my muscles. After I had finished washing I stepped out of the shower and gotten dressed. My body didn't hurt all that more but the pain was still there. Slipping my boots on I walked down to the cafeteria to get some food.

"Hey guys." I said to the group of people surrounding the table and they all looked up at me in astonishment. I could tell they were looking at my shoulder to since I did nothing to cover it up. Sitting down I picked through some food. Not bothering to eat very much. I could hear a loud commotion coming from a few tables and found Tony arguing with Alex and Matt over something. It wasn't until I saw Alex glance over to me that I knew they were talking about me.

"Tony, Get your A** over here before I kick it." I screamed over to him. He glanced at me and looked back to the other guys before walking backwards to where we sat. After a good amount of distance he finally turned and walked the right way. Breakfast was uneventful after that.

"Alright you lot we are going to be running around the compound and some of the factionless sections. Do not fall behind, it will reflect on your points." Eric said. After a few stretches we were off, with Tony and Ali stuck to my side. Left foot, breathe, right foot, breathe, over and over.

I looked around carefully to see the compound, as we ran around it. The buildings were all old and decaying, one look you would think that nobody would bother to live there but I guess that's what makes dauntless different. We rounded a corner and started to slow down. Glancing at my watch I could see that we have been running for about half an hour. Ali walked over to me and Tony carrying water bottles. I grabbed for one and took drink, the water felt amazing in my dry mouth. The break didn't last long before we got ready to run again. I looked down to my feet and saw one of my laces undone. I bent to tie it as everyone started running again. I could see their body's about 20 yards away, pain coursed through my body from an unknown source. I could feel my body fall on to the pavement, moments later darkness swallowed me.

****Third person****

30 mins missing

The group ran the rest of the way to the compound. It was a long and tiring track the members thought but the initiates were going to have to get used to it if the were to stay in dauntless. The initiates stopped and started to stretch their sore limbs as the trainers stood and watched over them. After few minutes the initiates were told to go take a shower and met in the training for further instruction. Four watched as two of the kids started looking throughout the crowd. Confusion painted its way over his face as he too searched the crowd for someone missing.

"Four, Zeke?" The distress in Lauren's voice was out of place. "Where's Dru?" At the question, the three male leaders heads snapped to look at her.

"I thought she wasn't coming? I told you not to let the damn girl come Four." Eric shouted.

"Ali,Tony when was the last time you guys saw her?" Four asked hoping they would say not that long ago.

"I don't know maybe when we took the break from running. I didn't even notice till now that she was gone." Ali said, Tony could only nod in agreement, unable to process that he had lost his best friend.

"Ok well, Zeke, you come with me to look for her, Lauren you take these two and..." Four was cut off by Tony.

"I'm coming with you. I grew up in dauntless like Zeke, I know this compound like the back of my hand." Four could only start to reject when Lauren stepped in.

"He's right Four and we can use all the help we can get."

"Fine Tony with Zeke, Ali with Lauren. Stay with them." Four said as some more members came out to aid in the search. As Four yelled out orders, Eric stood in the background.

*** Eric's Pov***

1 hour missing

_Damn it I told Four she didn't need to come. Why does she have to defy me all the damn time? Damn it Max is going to kill me. I have to find her._ I thought while Four was handing out orders and guns. I grabbed a gun that was held out to me, it looked almost foreign in my hands. Checking for ammo, I grabbed an extra clip and walked over to Four.

"Well looks like you're with me, _Buddy_." I said in disgust. I glanced over to him and saw he felt the same, but no matter how bad we hated each other we were brothers in this faction and that meant we would always have each others back.

We started walking the same way we came from running, both focused on the task at hand. We kept our eyes open, searching for anything that could help us to find our missing initiate.

***Dru's POV***

2 hours and 15 minutes missing

I awoke to semi-darkness only a sliver of light shown through a thick blanket which was covering what I assumed to be a window. I tried to stand but found it difficult to move my legs, and the bruises along my torso still hurt from the other day. Laughing sounded from all around me but the darkness in the room made it hard to pinpoint where it was coming from. I kept looking though in vain to see if there could be anything to help me. The laughing stopped just as quickly as it started and a light was turned on, blinding me for the few minutes it took for my eyes to adjust.

The room was empty, spare a man much older than me, and myself. He looked to be in his forties and was dressed in blue. He had short blond hair that looked to be graying around the edges. I looked around nervously for a weapon to fight him with but once again there was nothing.

"Look what the cat brought in… a wanna be Dauntless." He said with a laugh. My stomach got a sick feeling and I wanted to vomit but held it together. _I mustn't show fear. I am Dauntless. I will not cower. _I kept thinking. I kept my eyes on the man trying to figure out his next move.

The man moved closer to me. Holding his hand out to touch my face, I jumped backwards out of his reach.

"Who are you and where am I?" I asked, my voice filled with fear.

"Why should I tell you? No ones going to save you, you are an Initiate. You are replaceable." the man said getting closer to me. I moved back more until my back hit a wall.

"Well it's a good thing you left Erudite. You're not all that smart, are you? Must have gotten it from your father. No, Scarlett was highly intelligent. A fool for marrying Mark, but she was one of the smartest woman in Erudite, including Jennie." The man said more to himself than to me. He had gotten up and was pacing the room still talking about my parents.

" Ho… How do you know my parents?" I asked. Disregarding my question, the man looked at me. A sense of remembrance flashed across my mind. _Who is this man? _ I thought.

"How do I… How do I know your parents… You really are stupid aren't you? Well you may have been young when I was kicked out of Erudite but I thought you would have remembered me from photos. Hmmm… ok then how about I kill you the same way I killed your mother? Maybe then you would remember me?" He looked at me with a sadistic look. Getting nervous I thought back to that night and what my father had told me. I suddenly realized I knew this man.

I screamed.

***Eric's POV***

3 hours missing

Luck. I don't think there is a better word for us finding her. It was pure luck that Four and I were fighting, well arguing, when we heard a scream. We took off after it only to find it gone in the next moment. The buildings were decaying in the part that we were in. I could tell we were out of Dauntless and now were in the Factionless domain. I glanced to Four and motioned him to the side he was on, and I moved to my side to start checking the buildings. Clearing the first few buildings, I started to hear a voice and fragments of a sentence.

"Shut up...Bitch… Shit… If you… Kill you." Quickly moving over to Four's side I motioned him against a wall to cover behind. We glanced out a broken window to see a man in blue cautiously walk out of the building across the way and return.

"She's in there. We need a distraction." I whispered over to him. Suddenly a voice came over my ear piece.

"West side is clear, awaiting for orders. Over." The male said. I could hardly react before Four's voice followed. Giving our coordinates to a few and sending the rest back to the compound. Twenty minutes later the few he called showed up. Lauren, Ali, Zeke, and Tony stood in front of us, another ten minutes and we had a seemingly flawless plan.

***Dru's POV***

3 hours and 30 minutes missing

_Nobody's going to save me. They probably don't even know I'm gone. _I can't help but think I'm going to die here. My uncle is going to kill me, just like he killed my mother. He was back to pacing the room, no doubt making me more nervous.

A loud crash sounded from outside jolted us from our silence. I could hear James muttering under his breath as he went to grab a gun from the hall. Once his back was turned, I jumped on him trying to wrestle him to the ground and get the gun from him. _You are Dauntless Dru, You will not let yourself die today because of a sick ex-family member._ I thought still wrestling to take control of the situation. I heard a bang, I faintly remember blue eyes, filled with so much worry.

"Don't worry Dru... I will always find you." I could feel strong arms carrying me to what I could only hope was safety, but I blacked out before I could find out.


	6. Innocence

***Eric's Pov***

Max was not happy to find out I let Dru participate in the run, even though I didn't know, he still blamed me for Four's ignorance. I was responsible for the initiate's safety and according to Max I failed miserably so far. It's been three days since the incident and Dru still hasn't woken up. I will admit I was worried for her.

_I guess it's just because of our similar past. _I thought to myself. I found myself wandering through the once strange tunnels. I could make out the sound of music pulsing from the Pit and made a turn in the opposite direction. Only a few members knew of a back way to the chasm, it wasn't very safe but I needed something to focus on.

The sound of water came as a sweet relief and I could smell the water from the tunnel opening. I was about fifty feet below the pit by now and almost to the water's edge. I could feel a cold mist slashed at me from where I stood now closer to the edge. This was the calmest place along the chasm but it still wasn't all that safe. It was the thrill of danger that drove me to this place anyway. I sat against the hard stone wall, my mind swirling from the last few days. I closed my eyes bringing back the images from that day. I could still feel her in my arms. She felt comfortable, like she belonged. I leaned my head back against the wall and remembered how lifeless she seemed in my arms.

It seemed like I sat there all night, it certainly felt that way. My legs were sound asleep and my back was sore from the rocks. I longed to go to bed, but first I had to check on Dru. She was more important than sleep right now. As I made my way through the labyrinthine tunnels, I couldn't help but hope that she was awake. I found myself impatient to see her eyes. Walking in to the infirmary, I could tell something was amiss.

"Hey Lucy, which room is Dru in?" I asked the head nurse. She was bandaging Jon, one of the three I had beat up Dru the other day. Chills went down my spine as I remembered that,_ I caused her pain and laughed at her for her weakness. _It was unfair that I had to hurt her the way I am, but I can't afford a distraction and she is my distraction. I felt sick at the thought of myself now, I was a monster.

"Oh she left as soon as she woke up. I would say about three hours ago. I know you said you wanted to be notified once she woke up but I couldn't find you and Lauren said she'd talk to you." Lucy said while wrapping a gauze around the boys arm.

I heard screaming from somewhere far away. I couldn't pinpoint the exact place where it was coming from. I started to run. I could see the lights on the walls and the pit pass me. The screaming got louder as I approached the chasam. I could hear the sound of rushing waters over the screaming. Slowing my pace to a simple walk, I cautiously walked into the opening and toward the bridge. It was there she hung nearly lifeless as the water lapped up the walls and splashing her every chance it got. Ali laid on the ground trying to reach for the girl but her short stature wouldn't help her. I stood frozen in place, staring at the matted blonde hair that was clinging on to her face.

Another yell reached me over the roar of the water. I looked across the open gap where the bridge was supposed to be and found only the carcass rusted out. I followed the yelling and found Lauren clinging to Zeke and Four, trying to assess the situation and get Dru to safety. I found Lauren's eyes focused on me for a moment.

"You own me." I nodded knowing she was right. I looked back to the girls, one holding on by a thread and the other trying in vain to save the former. I scrambled to the edge of the chasam and reached for Dru's hand. The water was making it harder for her to hold on. I inched closer. I grabbed for her shirt a few times until my hand found the wet fabric and I pulled hard. I could hear the shirt tearing and I got scared when I felt her fall slightly. I could feel Ali climb next to me and saw her grab for Dru's arm, we both pulled her up to safety together. I watched as Ali wrapped her arms around Dru, tears formed in Ali's eye. I was glad that she was still alive. Shrugging my jacket off, I wrapped it around her and tried to get her warmed.

I could hear other members from my faction trying to get another bridge intact until we can get a more stable one built. I looked to Lauren and motioned to the apartments. I saw her take Zeke's hands and pulled him away from the ruins. I gently grabbed Dru from Ali and motioned her to follow. My eyes glanced down to the girl in my arms as I walked, she was smaller than I remembered and she was a little overweight but I remember how Erudite was always about mental strength and not so much physical.

We got to the apartments quickly and soon I was face to face with Four. I felt his hands replace mine and my arms dropped. I knew this was for the best but my heart broke as I watched the blonde mess, what should be my blonde mess, carted off to Laurens spare bedroom. I watched as they followed her, all but Lauren.

"Thank you Eric, I know how hard it is to save a person you want to kill." She said.

"I never asked to be saved that day and I now owe you nothing." I didn't feel like reliving old memories at the moment.

"I know you like her Eric nothing is going to change that." I started to walk away when she said one more thing.

"She likes you to. She just doesn't know it herself yet." I stopped dead in my tracks. I doubted every word I had just heard but for some reason I knew it was true. I liked her and for some strange reason, even after I had her beaten to a bloody mess she still looked at me with some light that seemed to shine just for me. She defied me just so I noticed her. I looked back to Lauren in awe, maybe she did like me, but she's not a member and since she hasn't been participating, she won't be an initiate for very much longer. Any way I would only hurt her.

***Dru's Pov***

I can honestly say that I hate being the damsel in distress. After being kidnapped, the bridge had rusted out and collapsed while I was on it. I currently sat on the couch in Lauren's apartment, leaning on Tony's arm as the rest of them told me what had happened since I was kidnapped and after the bridge accident.

"I don't think it was an accident. That bridge wasn't that old, it's strange that it would have rusted that quickly. The last one we had lasted about twenty years, not two." Zeke said in confusion. He looked at Four and the both of them walked out of the room without another word.

"That boy always wants to pin things on someone. Anyway maybe you should lay down and get some rest." Lauren said. I want to disagree with Zeke but something tells me this isn't an accident. I shook my head in response to Lauren.

"I've been asleep for three days. I want to train, I can't afford to lose any fights. So I'm going down to train some. You two rest, I know you both have been fighting and are probably sore so just relax." I said. Tony and Ali both looked reluctant to see me leave but stayed where they sat. I said goodbye to them as I made my way out of the member's apartments. There were plenty ways to get to the training room but the quickest was going over the chasam. I didn't mind even though hours earlier I almost died, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from training to stay here.

I got to the room quicker than I thought. I opened the door to find it empty and walked inside. Walking over to the list of names, I found mine toward the bottom on the number 20th line. I sighed at the results of my downfall, how was I going to redeem myself after that type of score?

"You know you're going to have to actually train if you want to stay in the game." A voice said from behind me. I spun around to find Eric standing there.

"Oh you mean I can't just screw you and get in, damn there goes my whole plan." I turned to walk over to the punching bags. "Then again I would rather screw Four, he would probably be better at it." I threw over my shoulder. I could hear him getting mad and I could hear his heavy footsteps walking over to me. A hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me.

"You know what you little bitch, I was the one who carried you from your dead uncle, I was the one who saved you from the chasam and it was me who carried you to Lauren's, not Four. Four was the one who let you run that day, I told him not to let you show up." Eric yelled, I reached up and smacked him in the face.

It only took him a few moments to retaliate. We spent the next few minutes exchanging blows to each other. It ended by him faking a punch and landing one on the other side of my stomach. I dropped to my knees, my lungs forgetting how to take in oxygen. He shoved me so I was on my back and fell on top of me straddling my waist. One of his hands landed next to my ear and the other grabbed my neck.

"You will never be one of us." He whispered harshly in my ear.

"Teach me." I crooked, my neck starting to hurt from where his hand still grabbed. "Teach me how to be dauntless." I could see the mixed emotions going through his head. Finally his hand was removed from my neck and his weight was lifted. I laid there trying to breathe again until he forced me to my feet.

"You want to learn how to be brave. Why did you choose Dauntless, what did your test say?" He asked me, I paused.

"I needed freedom and this was the one place my father couldn't get to me." I told him the truth, I don't know why but I did. I hung my head in shame waiting for the taunting to start. When I didn't hear anything I looked at him. He was so close to me, we were almost touching. I felt his hand on the small of my back pulling me closer. I looked into his eyes and seemed to get lost in their royal blue color. My breath got caught in my throat, I was almost sure he would feel my heart beating out of my chest. Just as he lowered his head, someone cleared there throat.


End file.
